When the red suede curtain is drawn, there sit two grand pianos back-to-back.

The stage background is simple, two window curtains on either side of a small doorway inside Victorian-like framing to provide the living room feel, a kind of dignified space where the good work of teaching and practicing the piano takes place.

Silence; then two men in black tuxedoes enter, promptly flipping their coattails on the latter side of the piano bench, wrists flat and fingers curled (a central theme of the first act), heads cocked slightly upward in order to cue the start, a couple of funny miscommunications that signal the comic aspects of the play, and with a nod, the firestorm classical duet begins like the start of a horse race.

Are they really playing those pianos? Yes.

At first it's hard to believe, so few theater performances involve masterful playing of any instrument, never mind two at the same time, in perfect harmony, at lightning speed. But in 2 Pianos 4 Hands, a two-act dramedy (comedy/drama) playing at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis during the month of June, the title pretty much says it all. Celebrated pieces by Bach, Chopin, Beethoven, Liszt, among others are scattered throughout the play. And expect to hear some less serious snippets from the masters' successors, like John Lennon and Elton John. Not to mention a little "Great Balls of Fire"

The play is an adaptation of the autobiographical original by the same name written by Canadian classical pianists Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt, who were also the original actors. 2 Pianos 4 Hands follows the trials and tribulations of two-would be professional pianists, beginning in the first act as youngsters in under-12 competitions and lessons, continuing through their conservatory/university experience in the second act, with occasional flash-forwards into the career work of a professional musician. Not an always glorious profession, we learn.

Our Ted and Richard come by way of the artistic director of the Cape Playhouse since 1998, Evans Haile (Ted), and his equally as multi-talented accomplice, Andrew Gerle (Richard). Both are classically trained pianists and seasoned actors.

For those of us who grew up taking piano lessons and carrying the burden of practicing under the "persuasion" of our parents who were paying for those lessons, the heartache that the youngsters feel in the first act will be familiar. The first act is as much about the innocence of youth as it is youths learning to play the piano.

The actors effortlessly switch back and forth between teacher and student roles. Sometimes Richard will be 9 years old, his hands underneath his knees, legs bobbing up and down on the side of the piano bench, studiously repeating the names of scales and chord progressions at the request of his teacher. Ted often morphs into those teachers: an emotional French woman; a stern sister of the church who insists on "curled fingers and low wrists;" an Italian man convinced that "women love real men who play arpeggios with only one hand."

The second act carries the dramatic impact, and ultimately the shining moments of the script's dialog. The bar scene has Richard give into the drunken demands of a listening and ostensibly appreciative patron who seems more like a disturbed boot camp instructor.

Other scenes in the second act document the rigorous and competitive environment of university piano programs. The entrance exams usually include ear testing, history questions, and recital. Both Ted and Richard suffer verbal lacerations from admissions professors and the pain of those cuts echoes in the theater, the obvious wisdom being that piano players aren't the only ones who encounter setbacks during the search for career.

There are more "human" elements to the script when Richard explains to his father that the Juilliard School of Music doesn't care about "D" grades. "They care about piano, Dad."

As sons and daughters and parents, these moments strike at the heart. Guessing that only few of us are aspiring concert pianists, perhaps the difficulties of the piano world will be foreign, but that's where the strength of this play lies. 2 Pianos 4 Hands transports us into an unknown realm and when we land at the play's end, we feel like we've learned something and been somewhere.

And two exceptional piano players at the same time, back and forth like Ping Pong, harmonizing like a chorus, sometimes even four hands on the same piano? For music lovers, theater doesn't get much better.

2 Pianos 4 Hands is at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis through June 30, with performances Monday through Saturday at 8 p.m., June 23 at 4 p.m., and June 27-28 at 2 p.m. For tickets ($25 to $45), call 508-385-3911 or go to www.capeplayhouse.com.